


Think About You

by howlingbuck



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Black Panther (2018) Spoilers, First Kiss, Letters, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 21:37:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13726476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howlingbuck/pseuds/howlingbuck
Summary: While Bucky recovers in Wakanda, he receives letters from Steve every week.He's pretty sure he's falling in love, or maybe he's been in love this entire time.





	Think About You

**Author's Note:**

> Contains very mild spoilers for Black Panther (2018).
> 
> Decided to write this right after watching the post-credit scene because.... soft.  
> Hope everyone enjoys!

Bucky slowly opens his eyes, squinting at the Wakandan children who have taken their usual place hovering over his bed and playing with his long strands of hair. A smile crosses his face as he notices one of the kids making a braid.

The children, realizing he’s awake, quickly bolt out of the room like they always do, laughing and screaming to themselves on their way outside.

Huffing a soft laugh to himself, Bucky leans up and ungracefully rolls off his bed with a loud thump. He looks up and sees Shuri at the entrance to his room with both her hands on her hips.

“Bucky, how many times am I going to have to tell you not to scare the children?” Shuri asks, the harshness in her voice betraying the smile on her face.

He gives her a toothy grin and walks over to embrace her in a one-armed hug. “Good morning,” Bucky murmurs. “Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite princess?”

Shuri rolls her eyes and shoves Bucky away. “I’m the only princess, of course I’m your favorite.”

Bucky laughs, a deep resonating sound that he hasn’t heard come from himself in over 60 years. It’s still surprising to himself, how well Bucky’s recovery has been here. The Wakandans have welcomed him with open arms and taken care of him when he needed it the most, slowly turning him back into the man he once was before.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair and picking out the flowers that the kids had placed in it. Shuri looks up and him and pushes an envelope into his hands.

“Captain Rogers,” she says and walks off towards the direction of the river, leaving Bucky alone again as if that’s enough of an explanation.

It actually is.

Bucky feels the still-present weight on his chest get even lighter as he sits back down on his bed, carefully tearing the envelope and sliding out the worn piece of paper.

Ever since he got out of cryofreeze, Bucky has been receiving handwritten letters every week from Steve.

Usually they’re just filled with Steve rambling on about memories from their past, or something funny that happened to Clint on one of the Avengers missions that Bucky missed. Sometimes Bucky notices that some of the words are scribbled out. He tries to figure out what Steve keeps messing up and frantically crossing out, but it’s probably none of his business (although he swears he can see the words “love you, Buck” underneath the dark scrawl of pen).

This time, the contents of letter are hardly any different than they usually are, except there’s a small drawing of Steve and Bucky together on the edge of the paper.

In the drawing, they’re both smiling at each other with their arms slung across their shoulders, standing in front of the Brooklyn Bridge, which looks exactly how Bucky remembered it.

Even though it was probably just a rough sketch for Steve, Bucky can tell how much emotion was poured into every inch of the artwork.

“I miss you, Stevie,” Bucky whispers into the still air of his room. He puts the paper pack inside the envelope, placing it on top of the growing pile of letters from Steve.

Shuri always makes fun of him for it. How Steve refuses to use one of those communication devices Bucky always sees the Wakandans carry around with them.

She insists that it would be easier for them to talk that way if Steve wasn’t such an elderly man who wrote letters like he still lived in the 20th century, but Bucky just waves her off every time with an endearing smile. Shuri always throws her hands up in exasperation, muttering something under her breath about “colonizers” and their “headassery”.

 

* * *

One week, Bucky doesn’t receive a letter.

He tries not to panic.

Maybe Steve is out fighting someone somewhere and doesn’t have time to write Bucky. Maybe he got bored of just sending letters and never getting any in return. Maybe…

He goes to Shuri, asking her, with desperation in his voice, if he’s done anything wrong. She smiles sadly at him and shakes her head.

“Sergeant Barnes, you’ve never done anything wrong.”

Bucky looks down at his lap and frowns at the last letter Steve had sent him, tracing his fingers over his sloppy signature, wondering to himself if he’ll ever get to tell Steve how he truly feels. How he’s felt all those years they spent together.

 

* * *

Bucky startles awake when he hears the sound of the Wakandan kids shouting over each other, their voices echoing throughout the camp. He quickly grabs his robes and runs outside, shielding his eyes from the blinding light of the sun rising in the distance.

He looks around and finds the group of kids playing in the river, releasing a breath of air he didn’t know he was holding when he sees that they’re just goofing off together.

Everyone’s safe. Everyone’s happy. Everyone’s with…

“Steve?”

The familiar head of blonde hair turns around and Bucky can only stand and watch as Steve rises out of the river, beads of water running down his bare chest. Steve breaks out into a run, tucking Bucky into a tight hug.

After what feels like minutes of clinging onto each other, Bucky pulls back and gives Steve a soft smile, running his hands over the dark brown scruff covering his face. Steve laughs and tucks a strand of hair behind Bucky’s ear.

“I missed you so much, you know that?” Steve says as he buries his face into the crook of Bucky’s neck, his words vibrating Bucky’s skin and lighting every nerve on fire.

“I missed you more, you punk. You scared the shit outta me, not sending me one of those letters this week.”

Steve throws his head back and laughs, a beautiful sound that Bucky never wants to stop hearing for as long as he lives.

“Would you believe me if I said that I ran out of stamps?” Bucky snorts and Steve tries to hide his blush with the palm of his hand. “I asked Sam if he could run out to the post office with me but he told me that it was about damn time that I needed to visit you here. In person.”

Bucky looks up into Steve’s impossibly blue eyes, the same eyes that filled up with tears when Bucky saved him from fights he couldn’t win on his own, the ones that flashed with surprise and grief when he saw Bucky again for the first time.

“Steve, I-”

“I love you, Bucky. I always have,” Steve exhales, a bright red flush creeping up his neck and dusting his cheeks.

Once Bucky starts smiling, it’s almost impossible to stop. He feels a surge of emotion wash over him, every ounce of passion he had once felt and still feels for Steve Rogers coursing through his veins.

Bucky closes the distance between them and lets their lips slide together in a heated kiss. Steve sighs in relief and brings his hand up to cup Bucky’s jaw and bring him even closer.

He parts his lips and feels as Steve’s tongue slides into his mouth, touching his own. Bucky wraps his hand around Steve’s hip and bites into his bottom lip, eliciting a moan from the other man which Bucky locks away and vows to remember for future reference.

Steve pulls back and begins to kiss down the side of Bucky’s neck, sucking on the skin and smoothing it over with his tongue. Bucky relaxes into Steve’s touch, feeling calm and safe in his arms. Where he’s always belonged.

He silently taps Steve’s shoulder, allowing Bucky to meet his eyes again. Bucky does his best to ignore Shuri giving him a thumbs up in the corner of his eye, too focused on Steve standing in front of him, alive and bearded and full of new emotions reserved just for him.

“I’m in love with you too. Have been ever since I knew what that word was,” Bucky says with complete confidence in his voice.

Steve gives him a shy smile, bashful despite the fact that he just made out with Bucky in front of an entire Wakandan village.

“Don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of saying it either,” Bucky laughs, pressing in closer to Steve’s arms. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I lo--”

Steve presses their lips together again and Bucky feels almost giddy as he smiles into the kiss. He can barely hear anything else over the ragged sound of Steve’s breathing and his own heart pounding in his ears.

Bucky’s home.


End file.
